Skills

Bare Conductive - Electric Paint (50ml)

Description: Bare Conductive’s Electric Paint is just like any other water-based paint… except that it’s electrically conductive! This means that you can actually paint wires onto things like models, clothes, furniture, walls, almost anything you can think of. Standard acrylic or water-based paints can even be used alongside Electric Paint to act as insulation or to create multi-layer circuitry!

You can apply Bare’s Electric Paint like any other water-based paint. You can use a brush, a roller, printmaking equipment, some intrepid users have even tried to spray the material through an airbrush! It’s important to note that as Electric Paint dries the conductivity increases (and will continue to increase to a certain extent even after the paint “feels” dry), so if your project requires calibration, let the paint dry completely before testing it.

Note: Electric Paint is not meant for use on skin!

Note: Electric Paint is not waterproof, but depending on what your application is you can paint over it with a waterproof paint or varnish. On the bright side this does make for easy cleanup.

Features:

Water-based, nontoxic and dries at room temperature.

Elecric Paint can be applied to a wide variety of materials, including (but certainly not limited to) paper, cardboard vellum, wood, metal, plaster, some rubbers, plastics and many textile.

Here is a link to where all the MSDS are for the products mentioned from MG Chemicals:
http://www.mgchemicals.ca/msds/index.html

Search by part number:
“841 liquid” is the nickel paint
“8331…” is the silver epoxy. There is part A and part B
8420 is the silver pen

My comment about open windows and fan is adequate for hobbyists who use it sparingly. If at a production level type of exposure (8 hours a day), proper organic vapor masks (any safety supply store will have) and proper ventilation are required. Details in MSDS.

Just read some comments about the safety issue of these products. It is not something you want to sniff–like paint thinner or even fumes from soldering for that matter. All you need to safely work with these products is a ventilated room (window open and fan blowing fume away from you). The Conductive Epoxy is a non solvent based product so very safe to work with.

I would imagine that if you’re breathing enough dust from the dried paint to do you harm then you’re doing something very wrong. It isn’t often you meet a charcoal or graphite artists whose occupation has given them the “black lung”!

Obviously drying time depends on the thickness of the paint, but it behaves roughly the same as acrylic craft paint. In other words, to be dry to the touch is probably something like 15 minutes. Although it does continue to “dry” after that and the resistance continues to decrease to a certain point.

You can speed up the drying process by blowing hot air on it to evaporate the water out of the paint but drying too fast will cause the paint to crack.

Also, remember basic painting rules like “fat over lean,” if you plan on layering it with non-conductive paints.

Due to all the unknown factors, I’d venture that isn’t the best use for this stuff. In your case, it’s common to solder a bare copper wire through the via to both sides of the board, then clip off the excess.

I’d agree with that. This isn’t going to be a very good or very reliable via. But remember, if you are using through hole components every chip pin lead is a free via – just solder both sides of the board. For what few vias you have left, do what Mike says – you’re going to be clipping off a bunch of resistor and cap leads anyway, so you have plenty of prepped wire.

maybe? I’ve never used it for that. It’s more for fabric and such. they make pens specially for making traces on PCBs though. you might be able to get this to work, in the same way you can use pliers to screw in a bolt instead of a socket wrench

The manufacturer told me that the paint have a life of 6 month post production/storage. I want to buy a bottle but I dont know if you going to give me an old or new one! Or there is no problem? Thank you, Robert!!!

Not a spec, but as shown in the tutorials, they are using it to vary resistance in a circuit. I cant watch the video currently due to school video watching blocks, and I dont feel this is worth circumventing them for, but I hope it is useful.

Edit Emailed Bare Conductive and they replied that “The material’s Resistance is around 60 ohms/sq (i.e. a 1mmx1mm square) at a thickness of approx .1mm. In truth it really depends on how you apply the material as shape and layer thickness can change the properties dramatically.” Then continued to say that you can paint it or stencil it and her preference is silk screening.

Very quick support and informative support staff, I think ill get a case.

I’ve actually just uploaded an image representing my experience with the paint. It shows the relationship between length and resistance in straight lines of varying width. Obviously these numbers change when you thin the paint or when you paint multiple layers. Hope it helps!

Customer Reviews

4 out of 5

Works ok

Did the job. Used a silkscreen design and worked fine. Unfortunately after a while it does begin to crack. Solved it temporarily by adding thicker layer. Do not move material because it definitely will crack. Wish that price could be less. Interesting that some of it’s applications are advertised as touching but their MSDS advises against direct contact.

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